B12 and thyroid

[Scothyroidy]

Hi can any body tell me, preferably with references , if b12 deficiency can negatively impact the thyroid gland , eg raising tsh etc, or is b12 deficiency and thyroid function being impaired nearly an association?

[Lyntwo]

See, "Vitamin B12 deficiency from the perspective of a practicing hematologist"

Ralph Green.

There can be an interplay with the thyroid function too. The inability of the body to absorb B12 from the diet can be from other causes of anemia which result in low hemoglobin, low B12. The subject is too complex for me to try to explain, you may want to consult a hematologist because there can be much to pursue.

I am kind of in the same boat.

Good Luck

[waveylines]

Good auestion!

Cant tell you any of the technical details around this subject as would love to know myself Im afraid. I suffer with Hypothyroidism and b12 deficiency. All I can say is that I noticed that when I went onto b12 shots my temperature went up, within normal range but higher consistantly. I read somewhere on thyroid UK that b12 helps with the uptake of thyroid hormones. Whether this is the reason I dont know. I do know that in my case I ended up slightly reducing my daily dose of thyroid hormones. So my reaction was the opposite of what you described......whether that was because my meds werent be absorbed well I dont know. Whether your b12 shots increased uptake but you were under prescribed so caused a short fall I have no idea.

Will read with interest others responses to your query.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

link to the article referred to by Lyntwo

bloodjournal.org/content/bl...

I am not aware of any direct link between thyroid and B12. However the fact that both thyroid hormones and B12 are used together in some processes in your cells means that there are likely to be some subtle changes in how efficiently those processes run depending on how much thyroid hormone and how much B12 is present.

It is also extremely difficult to know what is the right level of B12 for a particular person as it varies so much.

Thyroid hormones can affect gut transit they can affect absorption of micronutrients leading to deficiencies.

B12 deficiencies can take years and even decades to manifest fully because of the way the body uses stores to regulate levels. The effects of the deficiency will be felt as minor changes in the efficiency of the cellular processes that use them but sometimes the changes are so slow that they aren't actually noticed.

So quite possible that someone would be both deficient in thyroid hormones and B12 - introducing thyroid hormones makes the processes that need them run more efficiently - introduce B12 and they start running more efficiently again.